Timshel:Cody
by signefalls
Summary: Emma is kidnapped.  Can the boys find her in time?  Timshel: A Story in Four Part Harmony.


**A/N: We had a crazy idea late one night. Inspired by Mumford and Son's _Timshel_ and Akira Kurosawa's _Rashomon_ -One song, one story, four riders, four writers, and four separate perspectives. **

**This is Cody's story.**

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><p>I've seen men mad afore, and Sam Cain was mad, like a hornet's nest kicked on its side. He paced in front of the doc's office now, muttering to himself, twisting his hands behind his back. With each pass he seemed to get madder and his muttering, louder. I leaned against the doorframe watching, just trying to stay out of his way. Jimmy, Ike and Buck sat on the edge of the boardwalk, each of them looked like a scolded puppy and each took turns flinching as Sam walked by. I admit, I felt about the same. The whole day had been a nightmare from the fight at the saloon till now. Until we knew that Emma would be no worse for wear from her gunshot wound in her shoulder this day wasn't going to be getting any better. That bullet wound was the worst. It was driving me crazy thinking it could have been from my gun just as easily as it could have been from Buck's or Ike's or Jimmy's. It weren't making my friends feel any easier either, I could tell. We were all beating ourselves up something fierce.<p>

"Well, is somebody going to start talking? I want answers here! What the hell kind of trouble did you boys get into and how did Emma get involved? That woman is in there getting a bullet removed cause of you, do you know how painful that is? There better be one hell of an explanation… Well?" Sam said as stopped abruptly and slammed his fist against a wooden beam. If any of us felt like speaking up, we sure as hell didn't now. In the short time I've known Sam he'd been a kind and friendly sort, but all trace of that was gone. Not that I blamed him. I knew he was sweet on Emma, maybe even loved her. I may chase a lot of skirt, but I knew if I ever found someone as special as Emma was to him, I'd be acting the same way. I dropped my eyes to the ground and I noticed the rest of the fellas were also examining their boots.

"Cody, you're always running your mouth, start talking." Sam said as he turned his face to me.

This was not Sam our friend asking, this was Marshal Cain, giving an order. I winced at the "running your mouth" bit. Yeah, that's usually what people saw. That I liked to joke, talk , eat and chase women. That was all true, but there was more. I was just as broken up as the rest of the guys, I just wasn't sure how to act about it. But now there was no way out. I'd have to tell him the whole embarrassing, sad and painful story. Sure I may leave a few details out, but he deserved to know the truth.

"Well you see Sam, it started like this…"

It was a Saturday morning and a nice one at that. Clear air, bit of a breeze, the only ones to have a run were Kid and Lou and they had left first thing for Fort Kearney. I had already slept in, read one of my new dime stories and shined my boots. Chores were caught up and there weren't much else to do. We was all sitting on the porch and I was about to ask the guys if they had any bright ideas , maybe a trip out to the fishing hole when Emma walked up and told us she was going into to town on a supply run and if we needed anything. I looked around at the other fellas and I could see they were about as bored as me.

"You need some company Emma? Cause I could sure use a change of scenery. "

She tilted her head to the side, like she was wondering if giving up her quiet ride into town would be worth the aggravation.

"Well, why not? It's too nice a day for you boys to be cooped up here. Why don't we all go? I'm leaving in ten minutes though, so look sharp." She held a small smile as she walked away, seeing our eagerness to just be getting out and doing something.

So in no time the boys and I were in town with Emma, and after one of her usual lectures to mind ourselves, she went off to go get supplies over at that grump Tompkin's store. Tompkins had already hassled Buck recently and Buck didn't look all that eager to go back for more so we decided to go to the saloon instead. That was more than fine with me. While the rest of the boys got sucked into watching old Mike and Pete play poker, I made a beeline for the lovely Linda. She's something. Soft and curvy with a smile that lights up her face like a candle. I walked over to her and gave myself a good talking to on the way. It's easier for me to tell myself that a woman thinks I'm the finest man that ever lived than to wonder what she might really think. Maybe if I thought more about that, I wouldn't do much talking to women at all. But I told myself that her big brown eyes saw only me and sat myself down next to her. She gave me plenty of her beautiful smiles and leaned in real close sos I could appreciate how revealing her dress was, but you know what she really wanted to talk about? I won't be telling anyone this of course, but she wanted to talk about the "tall, dark, handsome drink of water with the colt". Yes, Jimmy. I was laying on my charm as thick as molasses and all she wanted to talk about was Jimmy. I tried to steer her attention back a bit and I must've been concentrating on it real hard too cause I totally missed the trouble brewing as my back was turned.

I heard some unfamiliar voices get loud, a bit of scuffling and finally the sounds of an all out brawl. I turned and saw Jimmy ducking a punch, "Cody! A little help here!" Jimmy called out as he landed a good shot right to this big, ugly brute's chin. You didn't need to tell me twice. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Buck had some tobacco juice on his face and that told me all I needed to know bout how things started. Appeared the jackasses were just asking to get their clocks cleaned. Buck gets hassled all the time, and Ike too on account of not being able to talk and all. The better I got to know them, the more it bothered me. So fists were flying and people were scattering out of the way until it was just us, the jackasses and Ed ducked down behind his bar. Yeah Linda was gone too. Figures she wouldn't be the kind to stay and help. We had beat them down pretty good and I was just about to slap Buck in the back for some of the hard hits I'd seen him give when things went south in a hurry.

Emma walked in, took one look at us congratulating ourselves, the jackasses staggering to their feet, dusting themselves off and went off on the lot of us.

"Have I taught you boys nothing? Cussin' and fightin' aint no way to solve your problems. Don't care what they said."

Just as I was thinking we ought to defend ourselves, Emma whipped around to these strangers and gave them the once over. She was not impressed.

"And you... Don't you have something better to do then to pick on these boys? I think you best leave. And leave now."

Ah that was our Emma, standing there like the Queen of England in her work dress and bonnet. Now what happened next ain't going to make any sense to me for a long while, if ever. The fifth jackass had stayed out of this fight, and pretty quick I could see why. The other four were the brawn, and he was the brains of their operation, whatever that was. The other four were recovering, one was saying he couldn't cotton a bunch of boys too big for their britches, much less a woman who didn't know her place, when Emma took a look at the fifth man. He was shorter, maybe not much taller'n her, hair thinning on top his head and mean, beady eyes with a sharp nose to match. Reminded me of a hawk, come to think of it. She frowned at him and her eyes narrowed,

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"

And she kept looking at him like she was trying to place him. Well the fifth man didn't like that at all. He returned her glare and then moved surprisingly fast, like a jackrabbit. He whipped out his pistol and pointed it to the side of her head and he grabbed her tight to his side. Then he snarled at us,

"Drop the guns or the redhead gets it!"

I could see Emma suck in her breath and struggle a bit, but the man's grip was surprisingly strong. I took one look at the fear in Emma's eyes and my gun was on the floor and I heard the rest of the guns fall with mine. I wanted to kill hawk nose right then but there weren't a thing we could do. Pretty soon we were all sitting on the floor with our hands tied behind our backs, watching helplessly as the leader put his hand over Emma's mouth and lead her out the door with the rest of his hired men. The last thing I saw was her was the pleading look in her eyes and a small shake of her head 'no'. Even right in the middle of her own kidnapping, Emma was more worried about us boys than herself. It was like rubbing salt in the wound.

Course as soon as these men were out the door we were struggling with all our might to loosen the ropes binding our hands. One of the bigger ones had thrown Buck's knife across the room and that's what I was looking for just then. Jimmy saw Ed sneak out from behind his bar and make a break for the back door, but Jimmy was having none of that, before I could even get a word out Jimmy was hollering his fool head off for Ed to get his hind end over to help untie us or so help him he'd rip his head off or something like that. I don't recall just now, but whatever he said it was enough for Ed to take him at his word and get to work setting us free. It was nice to have Jimmy and his temper around sometimes. I know he didn't like the reputation he was getting, but boy it sure could get people moving.

We ran out into the street, looking right then left frantically. There was no sign of them. Buck yelled if anyone had seen which way Emma and the five men had gone and this little old lady, Mrs Jenkins pointed towards the west side of town. So we reholstered our guns, grabbed our horses and we were off , in hot pursuit.

"And none of you boys thought of coming and finding me first before you rode off into God knows what?" Sam interrupted looking at us all like we was simple.

"Well when we rode past, we didn't see you in your office and there was no time to waste, ain't that right?" I said defensively and then I looked to the fellas for support. I got a bit of a smile from Buck and a nod from Ike. Jimmy was still staring at his boots, fat lot of help he was.

"What in tarnation is going on? I was takin a nice nap in the tackroom and everyone disappeared on me. Why is you all in front of Doc Barnes here?" Teaspoon dismounted from his horse and after scratching his whiskers, took in the sight of all of us gathered round, plus Sam.

"Yous all actin as if your Ma's been shot!" Teaspoon almost laughed at his joke, but the sound died before it ever got past his mouth as he saw how we hung our guilty heads.

"Emma's been shot Teaspoon, Cody's trying to fill me in on all the details, but he's sure taking his time in the telling." Sam explained before turning his narrowed eyes back to me.

"Aw Sam, I'm getting there, I'm getting there."

Teaspoon looked like he had been punched in the gut at the news and sat himself down, muttering 'merciful God' as he's like to when he don't know what else to say. I took a deep breath and kept going.

We reached the end of town and noticed the tracks right away. Six sets of hoof prints. They must've stolen a horse off a hitching post in town for Emma to ride. We followed their trail for a bit when all of the sudden Buck reared his horse and jumped down. The men had split up he said, three horses going north and three going south. Buck and Ike decided to go south, and Buck looked at me,

"You've said you know how to track, you better not have been lying Cody."

His sad eyes bore into me and I almost felt like turning tail. I knew deep down compared to Buck I knew nothing bout tracking at all.

"Sure Buck, don't you trust me? They's probably just split up to confuse us. We'll make up the lost ground in no time at all."

I swung back up on my horse and the rest did the same. Ike made some signs, I caught a word or two, but Buck filled in the missing pieces before I could even ask.

"Ike says we have to hurry, that he thinks Emma knows something bout that ringleader that could get him hung, whether she realizes it right now or not, sos what reason do they have to keep her alive?"

Jimmy started to curse.

"Best shut our traps then and go out and find her, and undo this mess we've gotten her in." He said as he looked at me impatiently.

"Right. I'm sure we'll meet up with you at the end of the trails." I said as I turned north. Buck and Ike nodded as us and then they were gone, leaving me alone with a very cross looking Jimmy.

"Well Cody, you's always braggin bout how do you can track, start tracking."

I felt like losing my breakfast right then, let me tell you. I told Jimmy to shut up, that I was a great tracker and I started to the north. Fortunately these jackasses weren't trying to hide their tracks or nothing. All three sets rode side by side and they's looked like they was riding fast. The hoof prints looked heavy too. My guess was that Buck and Ike were following Emma and the hawk nosed fella, but I couldn't be totally sure. I rode as fast as I dared, my heart racing the whole way. My Pa, long before he was killed showed me the basics of tracking right bout the time he taught me to have a dead eye shot with my Hawkins. He wanted me to be able to track deer and such for dinner. My ma loved venison and made a great stew, kinda like Emma does. Emma. She calls me her best customer. She laughs at my jokes. She tells the other fellas to go easy on the teasing even when I say I don't bother me none, cause sometimes it does. If I had just been content to stay at the station this morning, none of this would be happening… and I wouldn't be worrying about this woman who had been mothering me, whether I asked for it or not, was gonna die cause of us. Just the thought of her dying was enough to bring me to tears and that wasn't going to do at all. Out of the corner of my eye I watched Jimmy to see if he looked like he was up to talking as he rode, but boy right away I could tell he wasn't. He was like a storm cloud. If he frowned any deeper, he wouldn't be able to see. I wondered if there was anything I could say to cheer him up.

"So the lovely Linda was looking mighty swell this morning, wasn't she? Boy don't she have some curves, like those hills up ahead… and her laugh, it was like music."

I said kinda cautious like. He just turned his head quick and glared at me.

"How can you think bout one of your tramps just now? Emma might die cause of us. Just shut your yap, Cody."

Then he went back to looking like thunder and lighting. I had been thinking bout telling him how Linda was asking after him, but I sure as hell wasn't going to now. Let him frown all the pretty girls away.

I knew I wouldn't stay mad at him too long though. I hadn't known the other fellas all that long, but they were friends and they was starting to feel like family too and I knew that was cause of Emma, she had said none of us would be orphans while she was around. She may not have realized it, but that rolled around in my head all the time. I told Russell, Majors and Waddell I was an orphan when I made my mark to be a Pony Express rider, but that weren't totally true. My Pa was dead, but my Ma's alive and she's feeling poorly. I told her I'd go ride for the Pony Express to send money home for her and my sisters, and I have been doing that, although I do like to buy a thing or two for myself. She didn't want me to leave but she said that I needed to find my own way, that I had big dreams and was going to make something of myself someday. I sure hope she's right. I make more riding for the Express than I think I could doing bout anything else right now so I know the money will help her, but I feel guilty too. She looked so thin and tired last I saw her and I was just itching to leave. That small town was too small to hold me no more. I had been reading some books bout Hezekiah Horn and the way he wrote about the unspoiled west, was like how you'd write bout a beautiful woman and I want to find her and experience her more than most anything else. More even than staying by my sick Ma's side. There's times I feel like I don't deserve another chance at having a ma, the way Emma mothers me, but I push it down most times and just enjoy her cooking.

We'd been riding hard for a couple hours. It was pretty clear they had started north for several miles, then gradually changed their course to the west. I was thinking we'd be meeting up with Buck and Ike in no time and after that we'd ride on together to the hideout. It was almost insulting for how stupid they must've figured us, to think we'd be fooled even for a minute by their simple trick. I called out to Jimmy several times, I was practically yelling before I got his attention.

"Jimmy, we're going to meet up with Buck and Ike any time now. Think the tracks are gonna come together."

He just looked at me kinda startled for a second and then gave me a short nod of his head. I really wondered what was going on in that mind of his. Well sure enough, a few minutes later in the distance we saw Buck and Ike. We stopped our horses together and talked strategy. We knew we were close. We decided once we got to whatever hideout they had we'd leave our horses at a distance and split up, taking separate positions around the place so we'd be able to take care of the brawn before going in after Emma. Whenever you get to that point in a fight your instincts just take over and I spect you get like a soldier. It's either kill or be killed. Not pretty, but on the other hand, they took Emma. They had it coming to them. If I had a wagon, I'd run over them and then turn around and run over them again, just on account of making her scared.

Their hideout appeared on the horizon a couple minutes later. We tied our horses up at some bushes and then split up. It was an abandoned farm house. I could see six horses in their corral, a rickety looking barn, a chicken coop and a worn down shack of a house at the far end of the property that had a sad looking front porch. The beams were tilted and boards in the middle sagged, like the house didn't want nothing to do with these jackasses neither.

We saw the glint of their guns first before we saw them. Two of them were on look out on either end of the house, one was making his way towards the barn and the littlest one was making his way up the hill where I just happened to be waiting behind a tree. I got the signal from Ike and Jimmy. They were in position at either end of the house and Buck went after the one in the barn. Believe it may have been the same man who had spit on Buck's face, so I figured he'd be dead soon, with a knife aimed true to the heart. This littlest one must've been the weak link cause no smart person would do what he did next. I was using the tree for cover and I had my Hawkins aimed right between his eyes. There was no way I'd miss the shot, and this fella, he finally realized he was being watched. He raised his eyes to mine and instead of putting his hands up in surrender, drew his gun. That was all the excuse I needed. So weak link was the first to fall, and everything else happened pretty quick. The two big guys at the back of the house ran toward the front, guns blazing. Jimmy picked his off nice and clean and Ike was by an apple tree and threw an apple to distract his fella before shooting him dead. Buck came out of the barn a few seconds later and stopped to wipe his knife off on some straw before resheathing it, so that man was dead too. That just left the ringleader and we didn't have to wait too long for him to show up.

He came out of the house dragging Emma just like before, only now she had a gag in her mouth and her hands were tied tight in front of her. The gun was still the same, pushed right against the side of her head. She was shaking her head 'no', even as the bastard pulled her in front of him.

"I've got nothing to lose boys! I'll kill her, don't think I won't!" He screamed, his voice was high and shrill and had an edge to it I didn't like.

"We ain't got no quarrel with you no more, we just want the woman back." Jimmy said with as much calmness as he could muster, he lowered his colt slightly, maybe as a sign of good faith.

"Like hell! All of you, guns down and on the ground! Faces in the dirt or I'll…"

But he didn't finish his thought, Emma shook her head violently and the gag fell out of her mouth, at the same time she brought back her elbow and brought it down hard, right into this bastard's ribs.

"Now boys!"

She hollered as she tried to duck. Well he was still holding her, pain and rage crossed his face as he started to pull back the trigger, to shoot Emma. All four of our guns rang out, loud and clear. My pistol and the rest of them too from four different positions in the yard. The man's body shook as it was riddled with holes and fell to the ground. We had killed him four times over, but then Emma cried out and fell too and that's when the world stopped. My heart stopped too for a minute, I stood rooted to the ground as she lay there motionless on the porch. Oh God, no she can't be dead. Jimmy cried out her name and sprinted across the yard. Then I saw her move slightly and let out a groan, well that got my feet moving. I ran to join the Jimmy who was already by her side and Buck and Ike. She had been hit in the shoulder on her left side, right above her heart. One of us had done this, one of us had nearly killed her even as we were trying to save her.

Sometimes when you don't know how to react to something cause it's too much to take in all at once you get all angry and that's what happened next. Me, Buck and Jimmy started shouting at each other and Ike was waving his arms too, demanding to know who had the bad aim, each saying we weren't the guilty one while probably believing in our own heads that we was. Emma probably told us to stop. It shames me to realize that, that I was too busy hollering to notice the wounded woman trying to calm us down even as she grew weaker from the blood loss. Buck got hold of his senses first and told us to knock it off, that we needed to get her to a doctor. Ike took his red bandana off and handed it to Jimmy who wrapped it tightly around her shoulder to slow the bleeding. Ike signed something and I didn't quite get it, it was something about us all being brothers, Buck filled in the blanks even as Jimmy picked Emma up in his arms and started carrying her to his horse.

"Ike says it don't matter which of us shot her, what matters now is that we're brothers and we need to help her like she's always helping us."

"What are we waiting for then?" Jimmy asked impatiently, "We need to get her to Doc Barnes, not stand around talking no more."

Jimmy cradled Emma in his arms all protective like, like she was a child instead of a grown woman and I could see she was whispering to him. Whatever she said made him look like he was about to cry.

On our way back to town we rode as quickly as we dared. Not much was said, we were all lost in our own thoughts. Ike's words were stuck in my craw. We were brothers. I'd never had a brother before, never figured I'd need one. From about the time I could hold a gun and ride a horse, I was pretty confident they were the only two things I'd ever need. I was alright with these boys being my friends, they was a good bunch to ride with. We've had a lot of good times together as well as a few adventures. I knew they had my back, but the idea of trusting em even more than that, well it made me feel almost weak, like a girl. I looked at Jimmy carrying around an even bigger attitude than mine, Buck whose burden to bear was obvious as soon as you laid eyes on him, to Ike, well I couldn't even begin to imagine what it'd be like to not shout for help or say hello to a pretty girl. If they could trust someone else like that, maybe I could too.

Course there was Emma also, mothering us, and Teaspoon doling out advise which I guess you could say was fatherly once you deciphered it… I had fallen into a family without even realizing it and before I could even have a chance to think how I felt about that, we was in danger of losing Emma, our most important piece. Pretty soon we made it to Sweetwater and to Doc Barnes. He whisked her away and shooed us out onto the street with barely a hello and told us to wait.

"And that's everything Cody? You didn't leave nothing out?" Sam asked as he finally relaxed a little and leaned against the post.

"I swear Sam, that's the whole story. Emma got kidnapped cause we was being foolish and cause she knew something bout the ringleader, and she got shot when we was trying to rescue her. Still don't know which of our bullets got her, but it sure weren't on purpose."

"Well course not boys, I know Emma wouldn't want you beating yourselves up on that, what's important now is Barnes patching her up as good as new." Teaspoon said beating Sam to the punch.

Just then the door opened and Doc Barnes walked out.

"Well she's one tough lady, your Emma. I got the bullet out and the wound stitched up. She's still lost more blood than I'd like, but if she takes it easy she should recover just fine."

I let out the breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I almost felt like I was going to lose my legs and I could tell everyone else felt about the same we were so relieved. There was even a small smile on Jimmy's face.

"She's asking for these boys first, all of them. Started to argue that she needed her rest more than the visitors, but then she shot me a look that near killed me… so please boys make your visit brief and try not to upset her."

The doc swung his door open for us. I saw Sam's jaw tighten as we walked past him. I knew he was itching to see her. It was very telling how important we was to her that she asked for us first and it almost made me want to walk right back out. I felt guilty enough as it was, if she was kind and forgiving to us, I just might start crying and I didn't relish the idea.

"Boys come here" She said with outstretched hand. She grabbed Buck's first as he was closest to her, then she reached out her hand to Jimmy, then Ike, then me. Her hand was like ice, but her grip was still firm. Her eyes swam with tears as she looked at each of us.

The air hung heavy in the room as she drank in the sight of us, I shifted uncomfortably.

"Who was that man Emma? Did you ever figure where you knew him from?" I asked with a little catch in my voice.

"His name was Cheney. He knew my husband long ago and did enough evil for several hangings. It doesn't matter, he's dead now." She said firmly and pressed her lips together. It was pretty mysterious still, but even in her weakened and pale state she had that stubborn fire in her eyes. I knew she wouldn't be telling us no more at least. Maybe Sam would get the full story. Then her face softened a bit.

"Now boys I want you to forgive yourselves, and I want to forgive me too. If I hadn't provoked them, if I had kept my mouth shut maybe they wouldn't have taken me and none of this would have happened."

She saw we was about to argue so she held up her hand.

"I'm so proud of how you worked together. I'm going to live because of you." And she stressed 'live' with a nod of her head.

"You're not alone boys, as long as you remember that you have a family here in this room, we'll all be just fine. We all have our demons to fight, and pasts to overcome… You have a choice, to walk a cold and lonely road or to let each other in and trust. I love each and every one of you… and I will fight for you, but I can't move the mountains for you."

She leaned back and rested into her pillow, she had spoken to us with so much feeling, it left her tired, I think. I saw a few tears fall down her pale cheeks as she tried to give us each a smile. There was such a lump in my throat I could barely swallow. When my tears escaped my eyes I didn't even care, the rest of the fellas were doing the same thing. Sam walked in, guess he was tired of waiting. He ran to her side and sat on the edge of her bed carefully.

"Oh Sam…" was all Emma managed to say before she really started to cry. Sam leaned in to her and started to whisper and that's when the rest of us quietly slipped out.

Teaspoon said a few more words of wisdom, I'm sure they were pretty good, don't think I heard them though. Think I was pretty stunned. I walked round in a daze for most the rest of the evening until now as I write this all down. The bunk house is quiet. The rest of the fellas are getting ready for bed, Kid and Lou will be back in the morning. I need to turn in too. Jimmy is ribbing Buck a bit, I think we're starting to breathe easier finally. I'm going to close my eyes tonight and sleep, in the morning I'll wake up and we'll have our rides. From the outside at least won't much seem much has changed, cept we're going to have to make do with some pretty awful cooking till Emma feels up to it. But I think for me, I'm going to wake up with something different tomorrow. I'm going to wake up surrounded by my family… and that feels pretty good.

Timshel- Mumford and Sons

Cold is the water  
>It freezes your already cold mind<br>Already cold, cold mind  
>And death is at your doorstep<br>And it will steal your innocence  
>But it will not steal your substance<p>

But you are not alone in this  
>And you are not alone in this<br>As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand  
>Hold your hand<p>

And you are the mother  
>The mother of your baby child<br>The one to whom you gave life  
>And you have your choices<br>And these are what make man great  
>His ladder to the stars<p>

But you are not alone in this  
>And you are not alone in this<br>As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand  
>Hold your hand<p>

And I will tell the night  
>Whisper, "Lose your sight"<br>But I can't move the mountains for you

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><p><strong>AN: Sometimes the family we hold most dear are those we find in surprising places and at unexpected times. Ladies, thank you for sharing your time and talent with me. **

**I hope you all out there have enjoyed our tales! **No matter what you have going on in your life, you are not alone.****


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